How Disney Bought Lucasfilm

Good long-read in Businessweek about how Disney bought the Star Wars franchise and Lucasfilm. The article is short on major revelations, but contains some cute stories, like an overview of the meeting in which Disney CEO Robert Iger first asked George Lucas if he’d be interested in selling Lucasfilm:

In May 2011, Iger flew to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida for the opening of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, an upgraded Star Wars ride offering patrons the illusion of traveling through space to visit planets like Tatooine. Lucas was deeply involved in the attraction, personally reviewing its progress every two weeks for several years.

On the morning of the Star Tours opening, Iger met Lucas for breakfast at the Hollywood Brown Derby, one of Disney World’s restaurants. It was closed for the occasion so the two men could speak freely. Fresh from his daily workout, Iger ordered a yogurt parfait. Lucas treated himself to one of the Brown Derby’s larger omelets. The two exchanged pleasantries. Then Iger inquired whether Lucas would ever consider selling his company. Lucas replied that he’d recently celebrated his 67th birthday and was starting to think seriously about retiring. So perhaps the sale of his company was inevitable. “I’m not ready to pursue that now,” he told Iger. “But when I am, I’d love to talk.”

Disney is going to destroy the magic of Star Wars? DISNEY!? Didn’t George Lucas do that well enough on his own? It wouldn’t surprise me if one of the things that made Star Wars an appealling purchase is its ability to endure the fact that it’s complete dreck but still turns a profit. I’m not sure what you COULD do to kill it off at this point. Lord knows that one bad movie won’t do it.

John

Don’t forget Lucas destroyed Indiana Jones with the horrible fourth movie as well

As a major Star Wars geek it’s exciting to me to have a film that’s not 100% in the creative control of George. It’s clear from watching many DVD documentaries, bonus features, and listening to the commentaries, that the producers and folks that worked on the film often begged George to include or alter one scene, only to be rejected. (Like the Yoda scene at the end of Ep. III) We all know that Episodes I, II and III were all George. It’ll be interesting to see how well these new Star Wars films come out now that they are once again a collaboration of efforts, instead of being restricted to only George’s way or the highway. I’m cautiously optimistic. But I must say, the thrill of seeing a new Star Wars film in theaters is very exciting!

John

And wouldn’t it be awesome if Disney does the right thing by releasing the original unmolested un-vandalized original theatrical cuts on blu-ray restored and remastered?